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- ***********************************************************************
- DDN Security Bulletin 90-04 DCA DDN Defense Communications System
- 2 Mar 90 Published by: DDN Security Coordination Center
- (SCC@NIC.DDN.MIL) (800) 235-3155
-
- DEFENSE DATA NETWORK
- SECURITY BULLETIN
-
- The DDN SECURITY BULLETIN is distributed by the DDN SCC (Security
- Coordination Center) under DCA contract as a means of communicating
- information on network and host security exposures, fixes, & concerns
- to security & management personnel at DDN facilities. Back issues may
- be obtained via FTP (or Kermit) from NIC.DDN.MIL [26.0.0.73 or
- 10.0.0.51] using login="anonymous" and password="guest". The bulletin
- pathname is SCC:DDN-SECURITY-yy-nn (where "yy" is the year the bulletin
- is issued and "nn" is a bulletin number, e.g. SCC:DDN-SECURITY-90-01).
- **********************************************************************
-
- COMPUTER SYSTEM "WELCOME" BANNERS
-
- 1. The Defense Communications Agency/Data Systems Management
- Division (DDO) is in the process of fielding a patch to all
- Defense Data Network (DDN) Terminal Access Controllers (TACs)
- that will remove the DDN "Welcome" banners. This is being
- accomplished as a security measure for the following
- principle reasons:
-
- a. To terminate the identification of the system as belonging to
- the DDN/MILNET, and to terminate the identification of the type of
- operating system or software in use on the system. All too often
- intruders stumble by chance upon a MILNET host because the system is
- identified in the banner as being "defense" and/or "For Official Use
- Only". Intruders can also use software or operating system
- information from the banner to facilitate an intrusion. Therefore,
- it is best not to identify a system at all in its banner.
-
- b. A court recently threw out a suit against a computer system
- intruder because the logon prompt was preceded with "Welcome to...".
-
-
- 2. Request Host Administrators and other addressees, in favor of
- tighter security, take an active role in getting their
- commands/units/organizations to change existing logon banners to
- make certain that the identity of their data systems is not displayed,
- and to halt the use of "Welcome".
-
-